The Last Days of Anastasia
by TwilightSparkle3562
Summary: Three years after the events of "Anastasia," Anastasia and Dimitri are due to be married, but are involved in an accident en route to a ballet in Paris. Mortally injured and on death's doorstep with Dimitri, her grandmother and her friends at her side, Anastasia thinks back of earlier life as a member of the Romanov family.
1. Feburary 14, 1929

Disclaimer: I do not own "Anastasia," or its characters. They are properties of 20th Century Fox and Don Bluth Entertainment.

*Special Thanks to ManuelMusical14 for his ideas.

"The Last Days of Anastasia"

By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

"February 14, 1929"

February 14, 1929: the year of the black bottle, bicycle races, flagpole sitting and the first flight from Paris to New York. Mickey Mouse makes his screen debut and six months later, the stock market will crash and bring about the greatest depression in world history. In the city of Chicago, seven members of Bugs Moran's north side gang are murdered in one of the bloodiest murders in World History.

But, on this day, a very different kind of death was in the air. In the city of Paris, moviegoers at a local theater are preparing to watch the latest Charlie Chaplin film, when the theater manager stepped out from behind the curtain and a spotlight went on him as he addressed the crowd of patrons who were inside the theater. A look of despair and sadness was on his face as he made his announcement in French:

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he said tearfully. "At 7:30pm this evening, her royal highness, Princess Anastasia Romanov of Imperial Russia, went home to her family in the house of God."

At that moment, the theater broke out into sobs and cries upon hearing this news. For that they all knew that Princess Anastasia, the only survivor of the Romanov family massacre, had met her most untimely end and many feared that she had been assassinated, but in reality, Anastasia had been in a horrible auto accident in downtown Paris only a few days earlier while en route to the Russian Ballet at a world class theater called the Palais Garnier. Although her future husband Dimitri had survived with minor injuries, Anastasia was not so fortunate and as the mourning began all throughout Europe. Many had begun to think back to how something could like this happen to one of the most well-known princesses and one of the last great members of the Imperial Russian Family.

It all started earlier that evening at a luxury apartment near the theatre where Anastasia and Dimitri had been living in since their engagement three years earlier. Because Anastasia was 18 at the time, they couldn't be married until she was 21. As he waited downstairs for his fiancée to come down, Dimitri began to think back to how far that they had come since that day her family fell to the Bolsheviks. He loved her and she loved him, and soon, their wedding would come in a few months and Dimitri would become a prince consort of the Russian Royal family.

"You know it's funny, Vlad," he said to his friend, Vladimir. "Soon, in a few months, Anya and I will be married. I've always said that princesses don't marry kitchen boys, but I guess I was wrong."

"Indeed you were wrong, Dimitri," chuckled Vladmir, tapping him on the shoulder. "Just imagine that it seems like only yesterday that you were looking for the one who could be the Grand Duchess Anastasia and here she is, about to become your wife. You should be happy for this moment."

Dimitri chuckled to himself forcefully as he felt uncomfortable with what was about to happen. Tonight was going to be one of the last nights of his engaged life with Anastasia, before they would start planning their wedding in a few days.

"I am happy, Vlad," replied Dimitri as he picked up his cape and hat from a servant. "But, I'm just nervous, that's all. You know, I thought that I was due to live my life as a kitchen boy and watch this girl have an arranged future right before my very eyes."

"It's all right to be nervous, my friend," consoled Vladimir, trying to get Dimitri's mind off of what was happening to him. "Take it from me, why Sophie and I have started thinking about getting married ourselves and I was nervous enough to think that maybe I shouldn't go through with this. However, over time, I thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all."

But before Dimitri could respond to what Vladimir had to say, he looked up and saw Anastasia, walking down the stairs dressed in the sparkling navy blue opera gown that she wore for ballets and other important events. A silver choker was around her neck and diamond earrings were dangeling from her ears. Her long auburn hair was done up in an elegant bun and long white opera gloves adorned her hands and arms. It was one of Dimitri's favorite dresses of hers and seeing her so beautiful made him take his mind off of his anxieties.

"Dimitri, what are you looking at?" remarked Anya as she stepped down the stairs. "You've seen me in this dress before you know."

"Oh, uh, sorry, Anya," said Dimitri sheepishly, chuckling to himself. "I can't admire how beautiful you look tonight."

This brought a smile to Anastasia's face as compliments about her looks were always appreciated in the relationship she had with Dimitri. Tonight was going to be just as important to Anya as it was to Dimitri, as tonight they were going to sit with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress Marie. True, Anastasia had been to many events with just Dimitri, but watching the Russian Ballet with her grandmother was something that she was greatly looking forward to.

At that moment, the servant placed Anastasia's teal coat around her shoulders, covering her gown as Dimitri escorted his bride-to-be to a waiting car with Vladmir and several servants not too far behind.

However, given the fact that Anastasia was a prime target for communist assassins, she and Dimitri had to have several bodyguards accompany them at all times. It was almost like a military escort, but given the circumstances, that's exactly what was happening.

As they left the apartment, Anastasia looked out and saw the citizens of Paris walking the streets and doing what they would normally do on any other night. Anastasia had always longed for a simple life like any other woman her age, but she was after all a princess and her duties always had to come first, much to her chargin.

At the same time, she could not help but think of her family, murdered at the hands of Rasputin and his men. For ten years, he hunted her down in order to finish what he had started that night and finally confronting him, she destroyed the reliquary that held his power and killed him.

"Anya," said Dimitri as she looked out the window. "You've been very quiet since we left the apartment. Is everything all right?"

"Yes," she sighed looking back towards her fiancé. "I'm just thinking about my family and how they are not going to be here when we marry in a few months."

"I know how you feel," replied Dimitri, feeling his own pain of losing a family. "I wish my mom and dad could see me marry you. If only they weren't murdered."

The two lovers just looked at each other with a hint of sadness in both their eyes. They both suffered personal tragedies and events like ballets and operas were wonderful diversions for both of them.

"But, let's just enjoy tonight," said Anastasia, trying to not let this spoil their night. "Grandmamma wouldn't want to see us sad, now wouldn't she?"

"I don't think she would," replied Dimitri and the two lovers were just about to kiss when suddenly, the driver of their car began to accelerate the vehicle and both Anastasia and Dimitri jerked forward as the car sped through the Paris streets.

Looking up, Dimitri could see that the driver of their car had slumped forward in his seat as the man next to him tried to take over, but it was too late. Just up ahead of them was a stone wall that was near an old house that was covered in vines.

"Hang on, Anya!" shouted Dimitri as he grabbed Anya's hand and prepared for the worst.

As the other man tried to take control of the car, the car began to sway violently as the car took a sharp right turn and with the sounds of the tires skidding, the car slammed into the stone wall head first as the other bodyguards looked on in horror.

"Son of a bitch!" shouted one of the bodyguards as they raced out of the car and dashed over to the damaged car. Within minutes, all the bodyguards and Vladmir had surrounded the car and a nun emerged from the house and ran over to see what was happening. When everyone got around the car, they came upon a horrifying sight.

"Oh, my God," gasped the nun, who then did a sign of the cross as she and the other bodyguards looked down to see Dimitri cradling Anastasia, who had blood at the top of her head as a result of hitting the glass barrier between them and the front of the car. Dimitri only had a few bruises and abrensions, but Anastasia was in much worse shape.

"Get some help!" cried Dimitri, looking up at the men with a concerned look on his face. "Hurry!"

The nun ran back inside the house to call for help and within a few minutes, an ambulance arrived at the crash site as the paramedics arrived at the car, flinging the car door wide open as they assessed the situation.

"Your highness, are you all right?" asked the paramedic. Anastasia woozily looked up at the paramedics as she felt a sharp pain in her neck.

"I'm fine," groaned Anastasia, trying to stay feisty. "It's just that my neck hurts as well as my head."

Anastasia then tried to move her fingers, but she couldn't and that caused Dimitri to grow concerned and he began to assume the worst case scenario.

"Move my fingers, Dimitri," she moaned and Dimitri grabbed Anastasia's hand and tried to move her fingers. At that moment, both of them knew what had happened.

"I think, I think I'm paralyzed," gasped Anastasia, as the paramedics surrounded the car and lifted Anastasia from the car and onto a stretcher, removing her teal coat in the process and handing it to the bodyguards. Dimitri was also taken from the car and onto a stretcher as well, even though he had sustained minor injuries.

"I can't believe this," gasped Vladimir, as he watched his two friends being loaded onto the ambulance.

"We'll let the Dowager Empress know of what had happened," said one of the bodyguards as the driver of the car was extracted as well, and loaded onto another ambulance.

As he watched the ambulance carry his friends race off into the night, Vladmir was assuming the worst for Anastasia, even though he refused to believe it…


	2. At the Hospital

Chapter 2

"At the Hospital"

As the ambulance bearing Anastasia and Dimitri raced through the streets of Paris towards a nearby hospital, Marie and Sophie were already at the ballet and when Anastasia and Dimitri had not yet arrived, Marie began to grow concerned for her granddaughter.

"She should have been here by now," thought the elder Romanov, as the lights dimmed. "This just isn't like her at all."

But, Sophie placed her hand on Marie's and smiled at her, trying to keep her mind off of the delayed princess and her entourage. In her own mind, Sophie thought that they were just stuck in traffic or sorts.

"Don't worry," she whispered to Marie. "They are probably just stuck in traffic. You know how the streets are at this time of night."

Marie wasn't sure what to think of this blatant news of encouragement, but agreed with her nonetheless. She was probably right; Anastasia and Dimitri were probably caught up in traffic or something.

By now, the ballet had already started and neither one of them knew that there had been an accident. That was, until the ballet was over and one of Marie's bodyguards walked into their box and whispered into her ear.

"Your highness," he whispered into her ear, getting down to her level. "There is something you need to know right away."

At that point, Marie knew that this could very well have been about her granddaughter and listened in on what the bodyguard had to say. Marie also had to know that she had to avoid getting stress being that she was an old woman and not the young empress that she once was.

"Is this about my granddaughter?" she asked and the bodyguard looked forlorn and Marie was not prepared with what he had to say to her next.

"Her highness and her fiancée were involved in an accident on their way here tonight," he replied, looking down at the floor with tear filled eyes.

Marie then began to grow nervous and immediately beckoned two bodyguards over to her side. Seeing the bodyguard in front of her crying made Marie realize that this was much serious than she thought.

"Where is she going to?" she cried, rising to her feet becoming panicked. "I want to see her."

"She is being taken to the American Hospital of Paris," said one of the guards as they hastily dashed from the opera box. "We'll take you there at once, your highness."

With Sophie in tow, Marie was led out of the theater and into a waiting car as the crowds gathered around the elder empress and saw that there was indeed something wrong. News of Anastasia's accident was not yet public, but it soon would be.

Meanwhile, the ambulance bearing Anastasia and Dimitri arrived at the American Hospital of Paris where a team of doctors and nurses were waiting for the Romanov Princess to arrive. Once the ambulance came to a stop, Anastasia and Dimitri were loaded off of the stretchers and were taken to separate emergency rooms. Because he had minor injuries, Dimitri was taken to a separate room where he would be checked out and released immediately. However, Anastasia was not so fortunate as she was taken into the intensive care unit as the doctors began to assess the situation.

"Be careful with her," said a male doctor as Anastasia was wheeled into the emergency room, her head still bleeding.

"We'll get the blood samples right away," said a nurse as Anastasia was wheeled under a large lamp which shined down on her as the white sheet that was draped over her was removed and another nurse removed Anastasia's blue high heels from her feet and pulled her dark blue stockings off of her legs.

"She's been complaining of no feeling in her hands and feet," said yet another nurse as she placed another cloth on Anastasia's head, to try and stop the bleeding. Anastasia wanted to tell them about what she was experiencing herself, but she was too weak to speak let alone move.

"Has anyone been notified?" asked the doctor as an IV was wheeled into the room. "Any royal family members or friends?"

"The Dowager Empress has been notified and is on her way here," replied a nurse as she cut away Anastasia's white opera length gloves from her arms. At that point, Anastasia sighed and looked over towards the nurse cutting away her gloves. "What is it, your highness?"

But, Anastasia couldn't speak as the blood loss from her head had made her weaker than normal. Just then, a wastebasket on wheels was brought in and two nurses began to cut off her blue opera gown. Anastasia could see that her last shred of dignity was being stripped away from her and it was all thanks to an accident that shouldn't have taken place to begin with. But, she was more concerned with Dimitri, who was in another room being examined.

"Now, now, your highness, stop fussing," said one of the nurses as they cut away the light purple train that was attached to the back of her gown.

"Watch out with those scissors," moaned Anastasia, as they started to cut from the bottom up. "I was always afraid of them when I was younger."

"Don't worry, your highness," chuckled a male nurse, who was cutting from the top down. "We've been doing this for a long time and we haven't hurt anyone yet."

"It doesn't matter," replied Anastasia, who was only looking up at the ceiling. "I can't even feel anything in my body now."

The female nurse then began to cut the black petticoat that was attached underneath her gown as the male nurse carefully removed the choker and earrings that were on Anastasia's ears and neck. Both nurses knew as they removed cut pieces of her gown that Anastasia was in much worse shape than they thought she was in.

"My earrings and necklace," groaned Anastasia who managed to move her eyes and see the male nurse place them in a small box. "What are you going to do with them?"

"Don't worry, your highness," he said. "We're going to give them to your grandmother when she arrives."

Finally, the nurses managed to make their way towards Anastasia's undergarments and grabbing a scalpel, began to cut down her corset as they removed it and allowed Anastasia to breathe in a stabilized manner. Once the corset was removed, the female nurse finished undressing Anastasia by cutting away her bloomers.

"There we are, your highness," said the female nurse as she then grabbed a hospital gown and dressed Anastasia in it while the male nurse wheeled away the wastebasket containing her cut up blue opera gown, never to be worn again.

Just then, Dimitri came out of being examined and he only had minor cuts and bruises as evident by the bandages that he had on his face and hands. Knowing that Marie was on her way, he walked down to the hospital lobby and saw the car bearing Anastasia's grandmother race to the front of the hospital. Marie then got out of the car and stormed over to Dimitri, demanding what was going on with her granddaughter.

"Where is she, Dimitri?" cried Marie, her voice filled with that of a scared parent or guardian. "Tell me! Where is she?"

"She was in the emergency room and complaining of feeling nothing from her head down," he replied. "I fear that she may be paralyzed."

Marie gasped in horror upon hearing those words and immediately, the group walked into the hospital and would stay there as Anastasia was now fighting for her life.

Meanwhile, a small white bat had been seeing what was happening and knew that he would soon have to start making amends with his master's former target…


End file.
